Chris Matthews: It's My Job to Make Sure Obama's Presidency Works

Chris Matthews announced today that it's his job as a commentator to make sure president-elect Barack Obama succeed as president.

"Well you know what, I want to do everything I can to make this thing work, this new presidency work," he told Joe Scarborourgh on air on MSNBC. "That's my job. My job is to help my country. ... to make this work successfully because this country needs a successful presidency."

Most commentators and journalists like to think of themselves as watchdogs of the government and advocates for the common man. This is a unique perspective from Matthews, the ideal that it is his role to do everything he can to make the presidency work for the good of the country. He certainly didn't have that view during the presidency of George Bush.

All the Media Loves a Feeding Frenzy

David Folkenflik at NPR offers his thoughts on the media's current feeding frenzy on each other.

He talked to Joe Scarborough about his recent dust up with David Shuster:

"I get frustrated by people who have an obvious partisan bias that don't proclaim that bias," Scarborough told me. "I'm not uncomfortable with a guy like [Sean] Hannity, or [Bill] O'Reilly or [Keith] Olbermann, because anybody tuning in can tell they're not passing themselves off as objective journalists."

Scarborough says a lot of journalists who are registered as independent voters aren't being honest that they often have biases that affect their reporting. I asked him whether he included Shuster in that category, and Scarborough said no.

He also takes on Lou Dobbs at CNN:

Dobbs blasted away any notion of professional comity the night before. "My colleagues in the national media are absolutely biased, in the tank supporting the Obama candidacy while claiming the mantle of objectivity, whether they're on the front page of The Washington Post, New York Times or on any one of the newscasts," he told his viewers on Sunday evening. "I mean, it's ridiculous."

Dobbs, of course, surged to great ratings success in recent years by explicitly abandoning the mantle of anchor objectivity. Interestingly, Obama, on one of his biggest issues — protecting American jobs by maintaining trade barriers — has sounded more sympathetic to Dobbs' positions than has Republican candidate John McCain.

I fear I can already hear Dobbs' new job platform: taking over the Media Circus.

There's more. It's a great read.

Disunity in Denver for MSNBC

And now, lets look at the network that keeps on giving. Over at MSNBC, it sounds like some people have are having problems with the new regime. Now that Keith Olbermann has become the unofficial Director of Content and decides who gets face time, David Shuster felt free to take a whack at Joe Scarborough.



Here, Rachel Maddow hits McCain for playing the "POW Card" while appearing on Jay Leno. When asked by Leno about the houses gaffe, McCain mentioned his service. This is what he said on Leno last night:



Pat Buchanan, in response to Maddow, tries to make a point, but is pushed back by the adoring crowd nearby. (It's almost like being at a Big Ten football game at halftime). Here is the Maddow comment and reaction:



It is rather disturbing that someone might try to use a five-and-a-half-year stint at the Hanoi Hilton as a negative for her party's political opponent. In my book, McCain, and every other POW ever, gets huge praise for their sacrifice.

No, McCain did not give a good answer to his housing gaffe. He'd might have been better off saying that he had a "senior moment," or that he and his wife worked hard to get where they are, and that he wants to create an evironment where every American has the opportunity to succeed in life. McCain does try to put in a rebound during the Leno appearence to say that he wants to work on getting Americans into houses and keeping them in their homes.

But for Maddow to cry about McCain using the "POW Card" is as low as it gets. Does MSNBC really want to spin a former POW's service to our country as a negative? Don't you think that had Sen. Obama been a former POW that he would be using it as a central theme of his campaign as well? And, has Rachel Maddow ever spent a nanosecond in captivity in defense of our country? Does she knows what it's like to be separated from her family, tortured, and in doubt of whether she would survive such an ordeal? Her only qualification in this debate is that she is a favorite of MSNBC's new Director of Content.

Finally, here's this golden nugget. While Joe Scarborough, who really has had a tough 24 hours, talks about McCain's recent strength in the polls, Keith Olbermann, apparently thinking he is off the microphone, comments, "Jesus, Joe, why don't you get a shovel?"



Memo to Joe: Watch your back at MSNBC. Don't tick off the Director of Content, and start promoting the network/party line or you'll join Dan Abrams in some corner office in the basement.